The Tower of Power website has officially announced that Mike Bogart will be leaving the band, and Mic Gillette will be returning. For more information go to the Tower of Power website.

10.You’re still a young Maricone (Gay dude)

9. You got to Fajitafize.

8. The stroke is alive on the Ensenada side.

7. Don’t change Chones (Underwear) in the middle of the stream.

6. You outta be havin’ flan.

5. So very hard to go, but really easy if you drink the water.

4. Soul with a capitol Ese.

3. What is Heeeeep.

2. How could this happen to Mijo.

1. Oakland’s own, in the Guacamole zone.

The question of “Why Isn’t Tower of Power in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” often comes up in the Tower of Power fan community (blogs, message boards, discussions etc). Without going too deep into the reasons why the band itself has not been elected, it would seem to me at a minimum, the horn section should be elected in the category of “Sidemen”.

Just this week the Tower of Power web site published a list (compiled by Tower super fan Jack Silva) of recordings the “Horn Section” has played on over their 40 plus years (link to complete list). I took the liberty to do some research regarding these recordings. It seems that 36 of these albums have reached at least Gold status with the RIAA (The Recording Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry). These 36 recordings amount to total record sales of nearly 60 million Records (Vinyl, CD’s or other format). Listed below are the 36 recordings and there status with the RIAA:

I’m not sure exactly what the criteria is for entering the RRHOF but if record sales is a contributor, someone needs to wake up.

For more information on Tower of Power visit their website as www.towerofpower.com